EstherNaturally.com

Did you know that breathing essential oils has an effect on your mind? Essential oils alone can make you feel better about yourself? They are able to improve your frame of mind, lessen stress, and stimulate you to become more active. They can also help you relax or fall asleep more easily. The result is that you are a happier person.

Essential oils such as peppermint or eucalyptus strengthen brain waves, sharpen your mind and speed up your reactions. This is comparable to what takes place when you drink coffee, but without caffeine’s negative effect on your adrenal glands. An essential oil like chamomile has the reverse result. It slows down brain wave patterns and relaxes you like taking a sedative drug, but without side effects.

Pleasing fragrances put people into better moods and cause them to be more eager to cooperate and compromise. For instance, aromas channeled into hospital rooms lessen the anxiousness of patients, staff, and friends and families.

The smell of a skincare product is oftentimes as important as any other factor when you are choosing which product to use. It definitely adds to your pleasure as you use it. Observe your first reaction the next time you shop for a skin lotion or hair rinse. The first or second thing you probably will do is open up the lid to find out how it smells.

This is how breathing essential oils works:

Each time you inhale something aromatic – say your best-loved sweet-smelling flower or perfume – thousands of microscopic scent molecules enter your nose. Way up in your nose, odor receptors capture these molecules. These receptors are able to tell the difference between every one of the different scents.

After the odor receptors collect info concerning an aroma, they transmit a report to your brain. This report avoids the central nervous system and the parts of the brain that control reasoning. Instead, the nose sends its fragrance data to a part of your brain called the limbic system.

One of the numerous tasks carried out by the limbic system is to give notice to your body’s warning system of possible danger. The limbic system also directly transmits information to the hypothalamus and pituitary glands. By way of these glands, your sense of smell affects all your different hormones and your immune system. They also regulate your appetite, digestion, sexual arousal, memory, body temperature and heartbeat.

The information for this post is taken from:

• Kathi Keville. Aromatherapy for Dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc, 1999

As we learn more about essential oils, we are finding that we can use them to take control of our life and environment.

For instance, in your garden some of your beautiful plants may attract aphids. We have found a non-chemical treatment to use without causing you to cough and your eyes to burn. You can make a spray of peppermint essential oil. Just put 4-8 drops of oil in 1 gallon of water and spray your plants.

You can also use peppermint oil to keep mice and ants away. If ants are coming into your house, put one or two drops of peppermint essential oil on the threshold or wherever they enter. To clear a nest, put 2 drops of peppermint essential oil directly into the nest and the ants will scatter. Mice hate peppermint too, and you can use the same methods with them.

Mosquitoes dislike the aroma of lemongrass, citronella or lavender essential oils. Add 3 drops of one of these oils to a cereal bowl of water and soak some ribbons in this solution. Then attach the ribbons to the branches of your trees. These flying insects will decide there is a better place to be. If you have candles outside, put a drop of the essential oil into the melted wax at the top. Or if you have an outside light, put one drop of oil on the bulb. As the bulb heats up, the aroma will be released. (Don’t add the oil when the bulb is hot, though.)

Many essential oils can be diluted in base oils (such as jojoba or olive oil) and applied to the skin. Or they can be used in the bath. They can even be used by inhalation. Lavender essential oil wiped on a burn leaves no scars and using a drop rubbed into the temples when you have a headache brings such relief. Put a few drops on a cotton ball and put it in your closet to deter moths.

The information for this post was taken from:
Natural Beauty Recipe Book, by Gill Farrer-Halls. Gloucester Mass. Quarry Books, 2006
The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy, By Valerie Ann Worwood. Novato, CA. New World Library, 1991